Second Chances
by celestial-fire-angel
Summary: [Sesshoumaru x Kagome] Five years have passed since she's run away but now, Kagome comes back with a few secrets of her own, ready to start anew. Can she move on or will the past come back to haunt her? Rated for later chapters!
1. Chapter 1

**Second Chances**

**Author:** celestial-fire-angel

**Genre:** Romance, Angst

**Pairing(s):** Sesshoumaru x Kagome

**Summary:** Five years have passed since she's run away but now, Kagome comes back with a few secrets of her own, ready to start anew. Can she move on or will the past come back to haunt her?

**Author's Note:** Hello everyone~ It's been YEARS since I've been to the Inuyasha fandom and recently got back in when I re-watched The Final Act/Kanketsu-hen (I know, I'm late to the party). Anywho, this fic has been gnawing away at me, crying to be written ever since the plot bunny bit me, hard. It's been a long while since I've written anything so please excuse any shoddiness that you read but also please do let me know! I'm back, everyone~

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**Chapter 1**

_Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud. Thud._

_It was the only sound she could hear; her own rapid heartbeat. She didn't even hear the bottle of wine shatter as the bag it was in crashed to the floor, shattering the glass and leaving a dark red stain on the otherwise pristine floor._ It couldn't be. Why was this happening? _Her instinct told her to run. Run far away and never look back; protect herself as best she can. However, her body was frozen and would not listen to her mind screaming at it to move._

_"W-Why. . ."_

_Her voice was weak, quivering, confused; in the same state as her mind. It would have been comical to see her boyfriend of two years desperately pulling up his pants and tripping over his own feet as he stumbled towards her but she was not laughing. In fact, far from it as she looked to the rumpled bed, the naked woman lying in her spot, pulling the sheets over her own nakedness with a silent indifference._

_"K-Kagome, please listen. . ."_

_The voice snapped her out of her stupor and she shook her head. She brought her hands up to her mouth to muffle a scream as she turned and ran_. Where…do I go? Anywhere. Anywhere but here! _Her mind was torn between confusion and clarity as it struggled to comprehend. How could something like that happen? It had been two years since she and him had gotten together and yes, even though she had been the one to initiate it, he had been wonderful towards her. Yes, sometimes he was brash and selfish, but he had a tender, caring, and somewhat innocent side that she absolutely adored about him._

_They had both been in junior high school, the same class. He was the son of a wealthy businessman, she the granddaughter of a much revered shrine priest. When they met at first, there had been tension. He and his friends thought her too simple-minded and boring and she and her friends thought he was a no-good, two timing jerk. Their first day had been wrought with petty arguments and by the end of the day, she had managed to subdue him to the ground._

_Slowly, through the course of a year, through various projects and events at school, they opened up to each other. It was the start of high school when they made their relationship official. They had marked it by. . ._

_Her hand closed around the pendant she wore around her neck. The rough jagged edge pressed into her palm, leaving a deep imprint but she hardly noticed the pain. Instead, the one in her heart took over and she ran. Ran far as far as she could._

* * *

That was five years ago.

Now, Kagome was back. Freshly graduated from university abroad, she made the arrangements to move back home so she could start her career, as a nurse. She always knew she was gifted in healing others; back when she was still in grade school, she experimented on her baby brother, Souta. She would wrap him in bandages every time he had a scrape or bruise. She even made him pretend to be a patient while she was the doctor and give him "medicine" to make him better. Of course back then the "medicines" were all mud and grass and leaves.

As she stepped off the plane and into the terminal, she thought about her adventures in a foreign land. She thought about all the trials and tribulations she had gone through. It was especially hard when she had to learn to grow up quickly. Her grandfather and her mother tried to help but they both understood her reluctance to ask. She had always been strong-willed and never a quitter. She was independent, almost to a fault; never wanting to rely on anyone, even during the most difficult of times. Her trust had been broken once and she vowed that it would never happen again.

Even as she exited the terminal, she knew that the defenses she spent the last five years building weren't as strong as she wanted them to be. She still trembled slightly as she scanned the crowds, looking for her mother and grandfather, who were waiting for her with smiles and warm, welcoming hugs. Their embrace was like a warm broth for her soul. It soothed and eased her tensions and she allowed herself to relax.

"Let's go home." Her mother's voice was soft and gentle but Kagome knew how strong her mother was. She had raised her and her brother by herself after her father had been killed in an accident when she was a child. Many times, while she was abroad, she called home just to hear her mother's voice. It would tide her over the rough times and if things ever got too much, her mother always manage to fly over and see her. For that, Kagome was forever grateful.

With Souta to help with her luggage, Kagome shifted her purse and her carryon bag on her shoulder.

"Mom…is he alright?"

Her mother took her hand and held it gently. "Don't worry Kagome, he's just fine. He's waiting for you at home with Grandpa."

"You sure he's okay then, Mom?" Souta piped up, pushing the luggage cart towards the taxi.

"Oh hush, Souta," her mother said, giggling.

Kagome smiled. "I want to get home. I've missed him."

"No worries, Sis." Souta loaded the bags into the trunk and ushered both his mother and his sister into the waiting car.

Kagome sat in-between them, chatting about her final days abroad and the stress of moving her life back to Japan. Her landlord had given her a hard time about moving out simply because she had been such a good tenant and the people who wanted to move in didn't seem as nice. She had promised to call and catch up with her as often as she could and tell her about resettling in her home country. In a way, living in the apartments where she did, Kagome had felt completely at home, especially since her landlady was a kind old woman who spoke Japanese with her. It eased the homesickness she felt from time to time. They would stay up on Kagome's days off from school and work and chat about various traditional medicines, which Kagome was very interested in. She tried some of the herbal remedies old lady Kaede had talked about and was surprised to find that it worked just as well as the pills of modern medicine.

"I'll have to call her once we get home and let her know I got here okay."

"She sounds wonderful," her mother said, "We owe her a lot."

"I do owe her," Kagome agreed. "It was like having an older version of you around, Mom. Her advice, pep-talks were what I needed."

"Well it's good to have you home again. Your room is exactly the way you left it."

"Well, I think I could change the pink sheets and comforter now," Kagome said with a small laugh. "My tastes have changed a little and I think I've finally outgrown my pink stage."

"It's a shame we can't reuse those sheets. Souta is a boy after all," her mother said.

"Moooooom," Souta groaned. "We're not going through that again are we? I told you, I was too young to know the difference when I went for the pink blanket when I was a kid."

"It was cute, Souta. No need to be ashamed."

"I wasn't ashamed until you brought it up. During an inconvenient time too; my first school dance in front of the girl I liked."

Kagome giggled and patted her brother's shoulder. "Maybe she thought you had a sensitive side, Souta."

"Sis…" Souta gave a sideways glance. "No girl ever thinks a guy is sensitive because he likes the color pink."

"Oh, so you do like the color pink! Perfect, we'll just give you Kagome's sheets."

Souta was dumbstruck and slumped back in his seat, grateful that he could see the entrance to their shrine coming up. He needed to get out of the car and do something with those sheets. Maybe burn them. Yes, that was a good idea.

As the car pulled to a stop, Souta scrambled out of the car, busying himself with unloading the bags so he didn't have to see the smug look on his sisters face or the annoyingly sweet and innocent smile on his mother's face. _Pink, bah!_ He grabbed the two largest suitcases and began to trudge up the steps.

"Souta, you be careful. I'm going to go and get dinner started." Kagome's mother said after paying the driver. "Kagome, you should head in and have a bath. It was a long flight."

Kagome slid out of the car and grabbed her rolling suitcase. A bath sounded good. Her muscles were tense from both the flight and the knowledge that she would be back in the same country as _him_. She touched her chest gently. There was still a dull ache there. Time hadn't healed all wounds quite yet.

Up the steps, Kagome started across the courtyard when she suddenly heard the door slam open. Startled, she looked up in time to see a blur rushing towards her. It sent her luggage clattering noisily to the ground and it nearly sent her flying as well. Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him.

"Did you miss me?"

"I missed you, Mommy!"

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**Author's Note: ** Eep, hopefully that didn't suck too badly . Please let know how it was~ I do have the second chapter partially typed so it should be up relatively soon! In the mean time:

READ AND REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

**Second Chances**

**Author:** celestial-fire-angel

**Genre:** Romance, Angst

**Pairing(s):** Sesshoumaru x Kagome

**Summary:** Five years have passed since she ran away but now, Kagome comes back with a few secrets of her own, ready to start anew. Can she move on or will the past come back to haunt her?

**Author's Note: **Alright, here is the second chapter as promised. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter. I know ending it like I did was bit mean but I'm making it up by posting the next chapter~ So without further ado, here it is!

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Inuyasha.

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**Chapter 2**

Kagome scooped up the little boy who had run into her, picking him up and showering him with kisses. She had been so worried when she had sent him on that plane with her best friend, Sango, whom she had met at university. Sango had been on her way back to take the bar exam and begin her career as an attorney.

They had met when Kagome was starting to show her pregnancy. Sango hadn't judged her, hadn't asked questions, and they became quick friends. Kagome had once asked Sango why she chose to go into law and Sango's response had been that she wanted to "exterminate the demons" that plagued the homeland. Kagome had found Sango's use of the word "exterminate" to be a bit extreme but that was who Sango was. She was a strong-willed, independent woman just like herself with a definite vision of the world.

Sango was one of the few people outside her immediate family to know her little secret and was even there to see the birth of her son. It was a struggle to balance a new baby and school life and she had to miss so much school that she spent an extra year to finish her degree. Sango was a year older and finished before her. Sango spent the next two years working on a graduate degree so she could take the bar exam back home.

With her little boy at her hip, Kagome stepped into her childhood home. Everything was almost exactly the same and she fondly ran her fingers over the familiar.

"Mommy!"

Her son's voice woke her from her memories and she smiled at the little boy. "Are you hungry?"

The little boy shook his head, his head of silvery hair swaying from side to side. "Grandma gave me a cookie."

"What? A cookie? I thought you weren't supposed to have any!"

"Nah uhn, Grandma said I could."

"Oh well, whatever Grandma says, goes huh?"

"Yeah!"

Kagome had to chuckle. "Just be glad you're cute, mister."

"Yup, that's why Grandma gave me a cookie." Her son gave a proud smile.

She laughed again and ruffled his hair affectionately. "How about you go play with Uncle Souta while Mommy takes a bath?" Setting him down, she gave him a playful nudge towards where her family had gathered in the kitchen. She missed the murmur of conversation, the gentle tinkle of her mother's laugh, her grandfather's crazy musings and her brother's adamant objections over something that was said. She watched her son run off with a loud "UNCA SOUTA!"

Still chuckling, Kagome went upstairs and ran a hot bath. She let out a soft moan as the warm water soothed her tired muscles. Being cramped on a plane for hours was not fun, but at least there were no screaming babies on board. The food stunk and was not in the least entertained by the onboard entertainment. She only vaguely remembered the movie which had something to do with pizza and bombs. Instead, she spent the entire flight thinking and rethinking her decision to move back. Had it been the right one? Was it a mistake? Yes, life had been tough where she was but she managed to eke out a living. In the end, the convinced herself that what she was doing was the right thing. Her son deserved to be surrounded by people who loved the both of them. He had a right to know his grandmother, his great-grandfather, and his uncle and her family deserved to know her son. It wouldn't be fair to deny her son because of her own selfish thinking.

Now that she thought about it, it was quite selfish of her to run away to a foreign land and leave her family behind, even if they had been understanding. She had only thought of herself as she hastily made plans to set off, never mind the financial burden it caused her family. Never once, though, did her mother scold her for being so rash in her decisions. Her grandfather, as strange as he was, always supported her and always offered to ship things to her; Ship things she needed, not just charms for good health or good luck, or strange dried lizard things he said would help her circulation. Her family was always there for her and now, she was going to help them in any way she could. She would get a job and brings home money so she could raise her son and help out around the house.

Kagome stayed in the bath until the water began to cool and the tips of her fingers were starting to wrinkle. Wrapping a towel around herself, she tip toed over to the suitcases in her room and fished out a blouse and a skirt to change into. Smoothing the wrinkles as best she could, she quickly brushed her hair and swept it up into a loose ponytail and went back downstairs.

In the kitchen, her mother was busy making dinner. Her stomach growled and reminded her that all she had that day was crappy airplane food and some crackers she found in her carryon bag. "It smells great, Mom," she said. "Anything I can do to help?"

"You rest, Kagome," her mother said with a smile with a slight shake of her head. She was busy cutting the pickles that she knew Kagome liked. "Or why don't you make a phone call?"

Kagome looked confused for only a second before her eyes widened in comprehension. "I have to call Sango! Thanks Mom!" Kagome ran back upstairs to dig in her purse, pushing aside old receipts and bits of paper to bring pull out a crumpled piece of legal pad paper. On it was scrawled a number Sango had given her. Dashing over to the house phone, she punched in the number written. She made a mental note to go and get herself a cell phone tomorrow.

After the second ring, a familiar voice answered the phone. "Hello, this is Sango Taiji."

"Sango! It's Kagome."

"Kagome! Are you back now?"

"Yeah, I just got in not too long ago."

"That's great! How's the little one?"

"He's doing great…my mom keeps him on a sugar high. But thank you, for taking him."

A laugh from the other end. "He was an angel. Very well behaved. He was even charming the stewardesses. You want to talk about sugar high? They came around every so often to ply him with candy."

"No way. Oh he's going to get it." Kagome shook her head. How did she know that one way or another, he would manage to get his hands on sweets?

"Give him a break, he behaved the whole flight and it was long."

"He's charmed you too, Sango. You're defending him. Don't you want to be a prosecutor?"

"You can't blame me. He just has this natural charm. He'll be a real heartthrob when he's older."

"He's not allowed to date until he's married."

"Kagome, that's old-fashioned of you," Sango said.

"Better an old-fashioned gentleman than a modern playboy," Kagome said, her voice hardening just slightly. "I'll raise him right."

Sango could sense the change in her voice and was quick to change the subject. There was no reason to bring up the past right now. "What are you doing tomorrow?"

Kagome shook her head to clear the thoughts that threatened to overwhelm her. "I need a phone, and to start job hunting too."

"Never one to take too long a break huh?"

"Except for Yukito." Yukito was the name Kagome came up with for her son. To her, it was fitting since Yukito was written with the character for happiness and blessing. He brought happiness to her and was also a blessing. It seemed to fit.

"Right. Are you sure you'll be up tomorrow? Jet lag hits pretty hard."

"I'll be fine, besides, if I know I have to be somewhere, usually I can wake up on time."

"Right, which is why half the time at university, I had to wake you up so you wouldn't be late to exams."

"…It wasn't half the time!"

Sango chuckled. "No, you're right. It wasn't half the time, it was ALL the time."

"You're being mean." There was a little bit of whine in Kagome's voice which only intensified as Sango's laughter grew.

"Alright, alright. What time do you want to meet?"

"How about 11? We can grab lunch."

"At the train station?"

"Sure, since it's closer to you." Another chuckle.

"Great, see you then."

"Okay, bye."

Hanging up, Kagome had to laugh at their light bantering. Sango really didn't hold back when talking to her but she liked that. Sango was open, honest and blunt when she really wanted to be. She supposed that was all the training to become a lawyer.

"Kagome, dinner!"

Hearing her mother call her, Kagome carefully folded the paper with Sango's number and placed it back in her purse. She would clean that out later. Going downstairs, she was already salivating at the delicious smells that wafted up to greet her.

Yukito was already sitting at the table, looking at all the food, eyes glittering. Her son did love to eat anything and everything he could get his hands on. "Yuki, did you wash your hands?"

"Yes, Mommy," her son nodded.

Sitting beside him, she settled down for a home-cooked meal that she hadn't tasted in a very long time.

* * *

The next morning, Kagome opened her bleary eyes and groaned as she lifted her head to look at her alarm clock. "Oh no!" How did it get to be 10:30 already?! Bounding out of bed, she went to splash water on her face to wake herself up. Running a brush quickly through her hair, and yanking out a few strands in the process, she ran to her suitcase and pulled out another set of clothes all while her toothbrush was still in her mouth. Rinsing and wiping her mouth, she took one last look at herself in the mirror to make sure there was no sand left in her eyes before dashing off.

Yukito was already up and playing with Buyo, her obese cat that she's had since she could remember. "Yuki, Mommy's going to see Auntie Sango. You behave when Grandma takes you to the store, okay?"

"I promise, Mommy." Her son looked up at her with earnest eyes and she couldn't help but feel her heart melt at the sight. He really was precious.

Last night, she had offered to take Yuki with her to meet with Sango but her mother had said the magic words "candy store" and Yuki was instantly convinced to go with her mother. Kagome shook her head and said that her mother would spoil him.

"Oh, just a little won't hurt," her mother had said. Besides, Yuki would probably be bored walking around, not being able to actually touch anything or play with anything. Her mother would then have time to bond more with her grandson.

Giving a kiss to her little boy's forehead, she shouldered her purse and called a 'bye' to her family. Racing down the shrine steps as fast as she dared in her heels, she cursed her inability to be punctual. Squeezing in-between people on her way to the station, Kagome had been grateful that Sango was so considerate to choose a place that was closer to her. It still didn't mean that she could get there any faster! Cursing the traffic signals, Kagome shot across the crosswalks as soon as the signal turned, getting many stares from the people around her, probably wondering where she was in such a hurry to get to.

Almost there. She could see the entrance. . . right before she reached the station, however, she ran into something tall and hard. The force was enough to knock her backwards and she braced herself for the fall. . .which never came.

Her eyes squeezed shut, she only felt something go around her waist and suddenly she wasn't falling anymore.

"Watch where you are going."

A deep voice caused her to open her eyes. Cerulean met gold and her mouth dropped open but she was rendered speechless.

It couldn't be!

* * *

**Author's Note:** Since the writing bug has bitten, the third chapter is currently being written. Please stay tuned. If you could be so kind as to leave a review, I'd appreciate it, thank you for reading and thank you more for reviewing!


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